Surgeon's gloves are made by dipping a hand shaped mold into a coagulant and subsequently into a latex bath. One of the problems with such gloves is that they tend to stick to the mold after the glove is cured. To solve this problem, all commercially made gloves in the United States include in the coagulant dip a powder of mineral origin. The powder is usually talc because talc can withstand the curing temperatures of 260.degree. F.
Because such talc is used in the manufacturing process of latex surgeon's gloves, they must be thoroughly washed after their manufacture to remove all of the excess talc that may be on the surface. Such talc particles were necessary to remove the glove from its dipping form. The medical literature has reported that talc particles might create granuloma when they become in contact with a surgical wound. Talc, being of mineral origin, is not bioabsorbable.
Because of talc particles used in the coagulant solution of all surgeon's gloves are infused or embedded into the glove wall itself during the manufacturing process, some talc particles that are only partially exposed at the surface of the glove are difficult to remove. Efforts to eliminate the talc from the coagulant solution have not been successful. Without the talc in the coagulant, the very thin walled surgeon's gloves tended to rip and ball up into a gummy structure when stripped from the mold.